The Greek noun epitrope means permission, authority, commission, or power to act on another's behalf. It is derived from epitrepo (to permit, to entrust) and carries the sense of delegated authority.
Epitrope appears in Acts 26:12, where Paul recounts that he went to Damascus 'with the authority and commission (epitrope) of the chief priests.' The word marks the solemnity of an official mandate. Theologically, it points to the structure of authority in God's kingdom: no one acts on their own initiative but within a chain of commission and permission. Paul's conversion is dramatic precisely because his epitrope from the chief priests is superseded by a direct commission from the risen Christ. The highest epitrope is the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20) — given by the one who holds 'all authority in heaven and on earth.' Every true servant of God acts under this overriding mandate.